Worldwide Chip Sales to Rise 15% in 1999, Dataquest Says
Bloomberg News
February 2, 1999, 6:50 a.m. PT
Worldwide Chip Sales to Rise 15% in 1999, Dataquest Says
San Jose, California, Feb. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Worldwide
semiconductor sales are expected to rise 15 percent in 1999 to
$154.5 billion after slumping for the past three years, according
to market researcher Dataquest Inc.
Much of that increase will come in the second half, as
people buy new computers to replace the machines they fear may
fail because of the so-called Year 2000 bug.
''The third quarter of 1999 should bring good semiconductor
growth -- helped in part by 'protective ordering' in advance of
potential Year 2000 problems,'' Dataquest analyst Ron Bohn said
in a statement.
Older computers could crash on Jan. 1 because of a flaw that
prevents software from distinguishing between 1900 and 2000.
Dataquest, a unit of Gartner Group Inc., also expects that
memory-chip prices will rise. That could benefit companies such
as Micron Technology Inc., the biggest U.S. memory-chip maker. |
